Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

Ingredients:

For the Dough:

• 127g ripe sourdough starter

• 548g all purpose flour or bread flour

• 578g whole wheat flour

• 20g (1 1/2 tbsp) brown sugar

• 12g (2 tsp) sea salt

• 72g (1/4 cup) molasses

• 109 (1/2 cup) vegetable oil

• 72g (1/4 cup) orange juice

• 448g (2 cups) warm water (70 - 80℉)

For the Egg Wash:

• 1 egg, beaten

• 1 tbsp water

1. In a 4-cup measuring cup, combine the sourdough starter, 1 3/4 cups water, molasses, oil, and orange juice.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the all-purpose/bread flour, whole wheat flour, sugar and salt; mix on low to combine.

3. With the dough hook attached, slowly pour in the sourdough mixture until dough has come together, process on low for 2 minutes. If dough seems a bit dry, add in a little at a time of the remaining water as needed.

4. Increase the speed of the mixer and knead dough for 5 minutes. Dough should be smooth and supple, and not overly sticky.

5. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 3 to 3 1/2 hours.

6. Gently deflate the dough, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for a 2nd time; 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

7. Gently deflate the dough and turn onto a floured surface. Divide the dough into two. Shape each portion into 9" logs. Or divide each piece of dough into 2 and twist together, seal the ends. Place the loaves in two lightly greased 9" x 5" bread pans. Cover the pans with lightly greased plastic wrap and let the loaves rise until double in size, about 2 to 3 hours; (or place in the refrigerator and allow to rise overnight).

8. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F (325°F for convection oven. If you did the refrigerated rise, take out loaves as oven is preheating.

9. Add the 1 tablespoon of water to the beaten egg. Gently brush the loaves with the egg wash. At this point, if you'd like, you could add some sesame seeds or rolled/old fashioned oats to the top of the bread.

10. Bake the bread for 35 to 40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and an instant thermometer shows an internal reading of 190°F .

11. Remove the loaves from the oven and let them cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing them out of the pans onto a rack to cool. Let them cool completely before slicing.

Yields: 2 loaves

Notes&Tips:

• I chose to use all purpose flour for this Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread. In the past, I have used whole wheat flour and a mix of whole wheat and bread flour. You can substitute part or all of the all purpose flour for whole wheat also, depending on your taste and choice. Note that in using only all purpose flour, the dough tend to be a bit sticky.

• Even though I have given measurements in both imperial and metric, I used the metric measurements, which are in grams, for baking Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread.

• The molasses and orange juice helps temper the taste of the whole wheat, which some people do not like. If you don't have molasses, substitute maple syrup or honey.

• If you do not have sourdough starter, you could purchase it from some reputable sites online. However, if you want the challenge of culturing your own, here's a link to guide you on cultivating your own sourdough starter: https://breadtopia.com/make-your-own-sourdough-starter/.

• Because I did not use any commercial yeast in this dough, it takes longer to proof. So plan accordingly.

• This bread is tender and great for making sandwiches or toast. As always, I like to enjoy fresh baked bread with a spread of butter.